NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - North American stock exchange Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. (NDAQ) reported Friday a profit for the fourth quarter that increased from last year, despite improved operating margins, hurt by higher charges and a revenue decline. Adjusted earnings per share topped analysts' expectations by one cent, while quarterly revenues missed their estimates.
'Nasdaq's record profitability resulted from its improved strategic positioning, successfully meeting the evolving demands of our diverse client base, and maintaining the organization's relentless focus on efficiency. Moreover, the strong results in the fourth quarter, and 2014 overall, were driven by both broad-based organic growth and the first full year of contributions from our recent acquisitions,' CEO Bob Greifeld said in a statement.
The New York-based exchange reported net income of $87 million or $0.50 per share for the fourth quarter, lower than $141 million or $0.81 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Results for the latest quarter include net charges of $0.25 per share related to asset impairment as well as merger and strategic initiatives, while the year-ago quarter included net gain of $0.12 per share.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the latest quarter was $129 million or $0.75 per share, compared to $119 million or $0.69 per share in the year-ago quarter.
On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.74 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Market services revenues for the quarter were $607 million, up from $533 million in the comparable quarter a year ago.
Net exchange revenues, excluding transaction rebates, brokerage, clearance and exchange fees, declined 1 percent to $517 million from $520 million in the same quarter last year, and missed twelve Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $521.32 million.
Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, organic net revenues increased 3 percent year-over-year.
Market Services net exchange revenues for the quarter edged up $1 million to $205 million, and information Services revenues grew $6 million to $113 million from the prior-year quarter.
Technology Solutions revenues decreased $13 million to $138 million, while listing services revenues grew $3 million to $61 million from the year-ago quarter.
Operating income for the quarter declined to $173 million from $238 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating income increased to $221 million from $207 million in the prior-year quarter, with operating margins improved 300 basis points to 43 percent from last year's 40 percent.
'We anticipate the ongoing successful integration of acquisitions, coupled with our broader expense management philosophy, will create margin expansion opportunities throughout 2015,' CFO Lee Shavel noted.
During the fourth quarter, the company got a total of 95 new listings, including 49 initial public offerings, compared to total listings of 80 in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Further, the company's board declared a regular quarterly dividend $0.15 per share on the company's outstanding common stock, payable on March 27 to shareholders of record on March 13, 2015.
In Thursday's regular trading session, NDAQ is currently trading at $45.67, up $0.63 or 1.40% on a volume of 0.49 million shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $33.49 to $49.71.
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